Laundry ironing and pressing apparatus



July `11930- A. H. ADAMS 1,769,009

I l LA'UIIDRY IRONING AND PRESSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 26, 1928 2 sheets-sheet- 1 i /LA TTORNEY July 1, 1930. lA. H. ADAMS '1,769,009

LAUNDRY IR'NING` AND PRESSING APPARATUS Fild Jany.2e19'28- 2 sheets-sheet 2 NVEN ATTORNEY Patented July 1,'y 1930 ARTHUR H. ADAMS, F LA GRANGE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 TROY LAUNDRY MA-y PATENT tries CHINERY COMPANY, INC., 0F NEW YORIQN. Y., A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE LAUNDRY IRONING AND DRESSING APPARATUS y Application inea January 26, 19'28. serial No. 249,683.

This invention relates to laundry appara` tus, especially to heating chests for laundry ironers and also to methods of manufacturing such chests. l .y 1 .Y OneV of the principal objects ofthe invention is to provide aheating chest ,which is efficient in operation, economical of manufacture and readily Vassembled in place in an ironing machine. y n i Another object of the invention .pertains to an improved heating chest utilizing steam as the heating medium, said chestV having an ironing surface which is of relativelythin metal capable of assuming and retaining a high polish and preferably non-corrosible in character. o n

A feature of the invention resides in a method of manufacturing ,and assembling the component parts of a-steam chest, whereby in the process of assembly the ironing surfacek may be easily shapedfto conform to the shape of an ironer roll with which Ait is to be-used.

'Another feature is to provide Ya heating chest for laundry ironing machines comprising a heating coil which is united directly to the ironing' surface of the chest by materials of high thermal conductivity.

I-Ieretofore in ironing machines of theflxed chest type, particularly those employing steam forheating, and having co-operating ironing rolls, itfhas been the'practice to construct the chest out of cast metal with one or more longitudinal bores for the passagefof steam. Chests of this type are very cumbersome, expensive to manufacture, and must be accurately machine'dto suit the particular ironing roll with which they are to be em-Q ployed. It is therefore an outstanding feature of the invention that a heatingjchest is provided which isrelatively light,is comparanecessary to a clear understandingof one f mode of practising the invention. i

Accordingly, Fig. 1 shows an end section of a chest and co-operating ironing roll embodyingthe inventive idea.

Fig. 2 shows a plan vi in Fig. l'.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the heating elements may be united tothe ironing face of the chest.

Fig. 4f shows a modification of the chest of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is another view of the vchest shown in' Fig. l."

Fig... 6

ing face.' l

Referringparticularly to Fig. l there is shown a cylindrical ironing roll l which is ew of the chest shown ,Y `illustrates an alternative manner of attaching a heating element to theiron-y.

is provided with' aresilient padding comprising `preferably a skewed helical spring 4 which is wrapped spirally aroundthe roll l, and is fastened thereto in :anysuitable manner.` Padding 4 is provided with a covering'` preferably of one or more layers of. finely woven spring cloth or the like, to presenta uniform ironing surface tothe garments being ironed. Apadding and covering of the abovecharacter are shown and described in Vdetail in co-pending application of Arthur H.

lfndams,y Serial No. 24C5,180, iiledJanuary 7,

1928, to which reference may be had fordetailsof the structure and function thereof.

Beneath the ironing roll is securely mounted in the framework of the machine aI heating chest comprising longitudinally eX- tending side walls 5, whichmay take the form of inverted L-shaped channel bars, as shown,`rfastened inlany suitable manner to the cross-members- 7. .YA suitable bottom 8 `is fastened as by bolts 9 to the walls, and suitable sheet metal coverings lOymay be-applied to the ends. While oneparticular construc- The inwardly extending fianges 11 of thev walls serve as supports for the ironing face plate 12 which is preferably of steel orrMonel metal withV the exterior or concave surface highly polished. As clearly shown in the drawing the plate has its central portion shaped to conform to the curvature of the ironing roll, while the edges of said plate are straight and secured to the flanges 9 preferably by welding, although other fastening means may be employed. Pla-te 12V is preferably formed from relatively thin z5 sheet metal, for example, of the order of- 1A,

inch, in order that it may be' readily shapedV in accordance with the curvature of the ironing roll Vwith which it co-operates. Employing a plate of this character for the ironing facealso khas the advantage that heat is more quickly and efficiently transferred to the gar-y ments that pass through the ironer. f "For the"` purpose of heating the plateA 12 there is provided a heating coil comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending pipes 13 which are united directly tothe plate 12 preferably by welding thereto. As indicated by the numerals 14:, the lengths of pipe are also attached or weldedkto each other either 4o throughout their length or at any desired portions thereof, in order to prevent relative displacement of said pipes and for maintaining lthe plate 10 in its conformed shape.

Pipes 13 may be connected either in series or in multiple by suitable manifolds such as the U-bends 15. A source of steam under pressure or other heating fluid may be connected to the'inlet 19, while end 20 may be dead-ended or connected to a suitable outlet as desired. For the purpose of insuring that the heat from the coils 13 is substantially all transferred to the plate v12, the entire unoccupied space kwithin the chest may be packed with heat insulating material 18 such as rock wool or ythe like.

While in ironer steam chests according to the prior art it has been the practice to employ large, heavy and expensive castings having longitudinalbores for the circulation of ,50 steam, the present invention has as `one of its characteristics the employment of relatively light and inexpensive materials. Accordingly the'side walls 5 andbottom 8 may consist of relatively light iron castings since. the chest acts simply as an enclosure for the heat resisting material 18, and as a support for the plate 12 and coils 13.

A general description having been given of the arrangement and constitution of the parts making up the chest of Fig. 1, a detaileddescription will now be given of the method of manufacture and assembly.

A plate 12 of sheet steel or Monel metal or other non-corrosible material of the order of l@ inch in thickness is formed with a circular depression throughout its length, the curvature of said depression being in general the same as that of the padded roll. The ironing face of plate 12 is preferably smooth and highly polished to give theynecessary gloss or finish tothe garments. The heating coil is then united to the convex surface of plate 12, preferably as follows: A length of pipe 13 of the proper length and diameter is tack-welded at a point midway of its length, to the convex surface of plate 12 using a material of high thermal conductivity such as bronze or the like. This length of pipe is then welded at the ends and in succession at other intermediate points as may be desired. The next length of pipe vis similarly welded to plate 12 and so on until the entire working area of the plate is covered, it being understood that the pipes are connected as desired by suitable unions 15 prior to the welding operation. lVedges may then be inserted -between the lengths of pipe in order to properly shape the surface 12, whereupon the end pipe 13 is weldedto plate 12 at its outer edge 17. The pipes themselves may then be welded to eachother, using the process already described, namely, tack-welding at the middle first, and successively at the desired intermediate points. Thus a rigid and highly eiicient heating unit is provided which is capable of transferring heat efiiciently to the ironing plate 12.

The face 12 with the heating coil fastened thereto isnext welded to thek flanges 11, and the interior of the chest packed with insulating wool 18, whereupon the cover 8 is bolted in place. Instead of attaching the heating coil to the ironing face by welding, the coil previously assembledto conform to the curvature of said plate, may be secured by imbedding it in a layer of metallic cement or other similar material possessing `high thermal conductivity, as shown in Fig. 6 in which the numeral 12 represents a section of the ironing plate, numeral 13 represents a portion of the heating coil and 14 represents the body of cement. With this manner of attaching the coils, a'relatively'light heating element is provided having the desired degree of heat inertia, which may be increased byincreasing the thickness of the layer of cement in which the coils are embedded or by using heavier and larger pipes. If desired the pipes may be welded as shown in Fig. 1 and the spaces between the pipes filled with a metallic cement to increase the heat conductivity and incidentally the heat inertia also.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown an alternative embodiment of the invention in which similar numerals designate parts corresponding to those of Figs. 1 and 2. The structure of the chest of Fig. 4 is substantially similar to that of Fig. 1 except that the cross-members 7 are wider and extend to the bottom 8. Members 7 are also provided ywith holes through which pass the supplemental heating coils 19, having an inlet 23 and an outlet or dead end 24 in the event that high pressure steam is employed. The main heating coils 13 instead of being welded together throughout their length are separated as shown, and are welded tothe plate `12 throughout their length or` at any desired number of points as represented by the numerals 2O and 21. It will be noted that the upper edges of the members 7v are shaped to correspond to the curvature of the chest face and preferably bear against the pipes 18 to act as an additional support therefor. n

In laundry ironers of the type disclosed it is the usual practice to convey the garments through the ironing machine by means of an endless apron schematically represented in Fig. 4 by the numeral 22, it being understood that any well-known means are provided for supporting and moving the apron. While the apron with its charge of damp garments is passing through the machine between the padded roll and the face 12 it absorbs some of the moisture from the gaments and unless means are provided, such as the supplementary heating kcoils 19, the apron may become suiciently wet A to interfere with the proper ironing of the garments.y Accordingly as shown in Fig. 4 the apron is suitably arranged so that during a portion of its travel it passes in proximity to the lower face of the chest where the heat from the coils 19 effects a thorough drying of the said apron before it reaches the point at which it ischarged with fresh garments.

The various modifications that have been described hereinabove in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 also apply to the embodiment disclosed in Figs. 4 and 5. For example instead of welding the heating coils directly to the face 12, they may be fastened by a suitable metallic cement and may be of any size required to give the requisite heat inertia.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a heating chest is provided which is of simple and economical structure and while steam has been described as the preferred heating fluid, other well known fluids may be employed. Furthermore instead of employing separate lengths of pipe a single continuous coil of the desired conformation may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope 0f the invention.

What I claim is:

.1. In combination, a resiliently padded ironing surface, a heating chest having an ironing surface cooperating with said padded surface, an apron for conveying garments toward and away from the ironer, a heating coil having a portion attached to said ironing surface and having a portion in proximity to said apron for heating and drying it out.

2. In combination, a laundry ironing machine, an apron for continuously conveying garments toward and away from the machine, and a heating chest having a plurality of spaced heating units, certain of said units being positioned adjacent to the garments being ironed and other of said units bein ositioned adjacent said apron to heatan diy the same during its travel.

3. A heating chest for laundry ironers, an apron cooperating with said heating chest, means for passing said apron around said chest, said apron serving to carry damp garments as it passes over the upper face of said chest, a plurality of spaced heating units in said chest, one of said units being attached t-o the upper wall of said chest and another of said units being positioned adjacent the lower walll of said chest, the latter unit serving to heat and dry out said apron during its passage near said lower wall.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, this 21st day of January, 1928.

ARTHUR I-I. ADAMS. 

